Ex Cathedra

Really from December 2019:  We have been silent lately--I'm not sure who this collective We is, perhaps God and me or more likely just the many important aspects of the Bishopric.  Nevertheless it has been a while since I, no we, have commented.  And this is probably a result of the vow of silence We often take in the Cathedral House of Good.  It's a version of "If you can't say anything good, don't say anything."  But of course there is also a bit of laziness, time crunch and no inspiration.  The latter is important since We have indeed a strong Quaker influence.  We are also influenced by the Procrastination Society.

We have traveled since the last blog and so some sacred spaces even in Singapore and Vietnam not to mention the States.  Perhaps soon I will be moved by Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, along with these other sacred spaces. 

                                                              --the Bishop

MY BEEF WITH GRIEF

Slightly more than 50 years ago as a  young medical student I sat in on my first case conference with a skilled attending psychiatrist interviewing a depressed widow.  She was sadden to the point of not eating or sleeping and was contemplating suicide.  And what was the precipitant of this extreme state?  The death of her cherished dog!  I recall in my early 20's thinking how silly to be so attached to a dog.  Oh, I had so much to experience.

The psychoanalytic interpretation that day was that the dog was a displacement from the loss of her husband.  This made sense to me.   I had had only a few losses by that time even if they had been very significant: my father and grandfathers and even a few dogs, with the latter getting little regard.

Now fast forward 50 plus years. My looses have multiplied of course including family, friends, and acquaintances.  I have been able to acknowledge and experience grief repeatedly.

Recently my life partner and I had to euthanize her increasingly debilitated poodle.  She had known the dog 11 years and I had known her 8 years.  Sadness has overwhelmed us both.  Sadness for the loss of Isadora herself!  And in this grief I recall my case conference of 50 years ago.

Isadora was a wonderful, gentle dog, affectionate and ever present.  She was non-intrusive but engaging and ever conscious and accommodating of her master's mood.  We grieve for other losses and our own mortality but we also grieve for Isadora.  She is gone and we will miss her sorely.

                                                                              -- the Bishop

A GOOD BOOK IF ONLY BECAUSE IT'S INTERESTING

James, the Brother of Jesus:  the Key to Understanding the Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls by Robert Eiseman.

What a scrupulously researched and detailed book!  The author weaves together an exhaustive list of ancient documents which include canonical and non canonical works (Jewish and Christian), the Dead Sea Scrolls, ancient historians and many more.  It took me months to complete and I think it would really require a PhD for me to fully evaluate it.  Eiseman uses philology, etymology, historical criticism, and deep knowledge of comparative religions and ancient history.  He connects dots in such a remarkable way that I'm not sure he is not creating dots.

But the basic theory as I understand it (and it would have to remain a theory for me) associates the earliest Jesus followers (earliest Christians) in the general apocalyptic milieu of the era.  So the earliest followers would have been more militant, staunchly observant of the Torah, messianic, rebellious, and ritualistic.  It would not have been a turn the other cheek religion.

James is portrayed as the brother of Jesus and his successor as leader of the group on Jesus' crucifixion.  And Eiseman contends James was effectively written out of the cannon by the followers of Paul in a effort to basically allow the Pauline version of Christianity of prosper--a version more in cooperation with the Romans and more identified with love and a heavenly kingdom instead of an Earthly one.  Paul's early persecution of the new sect gave way to his being the major proponent.  Eiseman contends Paul actually was responsible for an attack on James which was rewritten in the New Testament as the stoning of Stephen and even to some extent in suicide description of Judas.

An intriguing aspect of the book for me is that it gives a plausible, even if inaccurate, picture of how early Christianity could have developed in a time of intense religious and political upheaval.  When we read the current cannon, we are perhaps only reading the final victorious version of conflicting and battling ideas, beliefs and practices.

                                                                          --the Bishop

WHAT TO BELIEVE?

 Reading through a religious insert in my local newspaper I came across many intriguing articles.  It was a little unclear what group was sponsoring these viewpoints, but at least some of the authors were  from a local group affiliated with a movement that has split from a national church over doctrinal issues.  One such article delved into history of our identities and ultimately focused on the sacrifice of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  Quoted was his poem that vouchsafed him as belonging to God, in face of Nazism even while fearing execution.  Of course being the cynic I am, I also saw support for the breakaway group to maintain courage and recognition that they truly belonged to God unlike the National Church.  Of course this is unspoken since the locals are not really in Bonhoeffer's circumstances and the National Church is not Nazism, no matter how much they're seen unorthodox.

Another fascinating article admonished against fighting poverty by taking from some and giving to others.  To underscore this absurdity an example was to take all of Bill Gates wealth and distribute it to everyone with each getting only $300.  And this would be just a one time event.  Of course this idea of taking from some (the wealthy) and giving to others (poor, non-workers, derelicts) is often a code phrase for lamenting taxes, even a progressive system, and is an easy strawman.    Taxes contribute to general benefits and I'm sure each of us can find some objections to the spending of some tax dollars.  Nevertheless, the Common Good is a far cry from taking from some to give to others even if there are some efforts to provide a safety net--or health care, disability benefits, education, prevent  hunger.   

But the most catching article for me was the one dealing with "Focusing on Basics" with supertitle of "Prodigal Son"--recall there are two diocesan congregations apart at the moment and who might be symbolically the Prodigal Son I couldn't say except for perhaps both.  Aren't we all?

The author laments how minor details can obscure the really important messages of the church.  Gay marriage, abortion, women priests, adult versus childhood baptism, type of music--and I'll add more: the day to the week of worship, handling snakes, speaking in tongues, dancing, alcohol, caffeine, and countless more.  I concur with the author that such matters are not very important as denominational determinants.  He does believe however that "cultural" wars are important.  It's just you don't want to overwhelm a new convert too quickly.

My biggest disappointment came after the author had trumpeted the value of transcending minor beliefs for a more profound and inclusive experience.  This inclusive experience turns out to be what we must say as we stand before "God in judgement."  For him this is where the rubber hits the road.  It's a test.  And the correct answer "better include" a version of accepting the doctrine of atonement salvation.  I must point out that not even all Christians accept this doctrine and this does not even address the billions who profess Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, forms of what we call Hinduism, and countless other beliefs I can't list for space.

It reminds me of the statement attributed to Jesus about not worrying about the mote in your neighbors eye when there is a beam in your own.   I would write more, but my eyes  hurt.

                                                                --the Bishop

THE NICELY LEAN CREED

IN-CREED-IBLE

Recently I was attending a friend's church--in my usual ecumenical mood--and found I was unable to recite the Nicene Creed because it basically contained so much I did not believe.  The Creed is a centerpiece of this (and many other) churches.  It originated in 4th century when the Emperor Constantine was trying to unify his empire and church authorities had similar ideas of unifying the faith.  It was not universally accepted in its day and was part of much blood shed and suffering before it came into final acceptance.  Many Protestant churches don't use the creed today, not because they don't believe most of its content but because it was Papist.  Today of course I don't have to worry about being tortured by the Catholics although  at times I do worry about the Protestants.  So I decided it was time for us to have our own creed, which of course we would never use since we don't believe in creeds. 


The Nicely Lean Creed:

I believe in God-- mysterious, unfathomable, multifaceted, knowable, ever present yet probably non-existent. 

I believe in Jesus a guide to and spokesman for God.  He was born and remained Jewish and before his death, he was never a Christian.

I believe a Divine Spirit is present in many places and people and in fact permeates all of life.



For debate on the above Creed, a convocation of Bishops was convened at the Cathedral House of Good with a quorum present.  After prolonged debate, the Creed was accepted without opposition.  Conditions for approval were that it would never be part of a service and would not be an article of faith. 

Below is the Nicene Creed (or a version of it) that I was unable to justify reading while on an ecumenical visit. 

                                                the Bishop





Nicene Creed:  

I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.

I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.

I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins
and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

SABBATICAL

I've been traveling in an ecumencal mood of course for several months.  In Mexico I was part of a Mayan blessing and also celebrated Christmas among hundreds of jovial religionists. In Florida I witness Yahweh's triumph over Baal.   In Lisbon I made a pilgrimage to an open arms Jesus.  And in Rome I gave homage to countless churches, basilicas and cathedrals.  I visited catacombs and payed respect at the tomb of St. Peter below his basilica.  And in addition I venerated Mithras at an altar in excavations two layers down from a 12th century basilica.  And in Pompeii I revered the Temple of Jupiter.  And finally in Frankfurt, I respected the church where emperors were crowned for hundreds of years.  There was simply no shortage of ecumenical moments.  The bizarrest to me in Rome was the body of Pope John XXIII laid out in a glass coffin.  They didn't seem to be expecting a resuscitation but they did expected him to act saintly. 
Frankfurt               
         Pompeii                

 Mithras

St. Peter's Tomb

Moses in Church of St Peter in Chains

Cristo Rei

Mexican Snow

Florida

Pair of  Shamans

-----the Bishop

THANK GOODNESS!

Recently I evacuated my area when a hurricane threatened.  It was a category 4 which eventually downgraded to category 2 before landfall and missed my area almost completely but devastated areas further up the coast.  At my evacuation site before I knew its course, I was channel surfing for news when I came across the CBN--Christian Broadcasting Network-- and heard Pat Robertson say thanks to all the CBN prayers, the hurricane  had already lessened to category 2.  At that point the hurricane came ashore, wobbled, slowed, and dumped rain for hours, caused massive flooding and ultimately killed scores of people.  I was so thankful for their prayers.  If not for CBN it could have easily been another Puerto Rico!  (I wonder if Robertson prayed for PR.)

Often I read posts attributing avoidance of natural catastrophes and miracles to divine mercy.  Once I met a woman ecstatic because God had given her a car.   People can see a divine purpose in finding a mall parking space.  People see miraculous cures of illness and pray for such recoveries in special services.  I think I have a better chance of finding a parking space than I have of moving a storm.  Call me a cynic I guess.  But it's enough to drive me to atheism, thank God (as a friend's father used to say before he was called to Glory).

Of course all religions claim divine intervention with prayer and miraculous cures.  And I know others who send out "light" and "goodness" as interventions in life's struggles.  And I recall a friend, an atheist, who was diagnosed with a terminal cancer.  He then arranged all his affairs and papers with his very pessimistic viewpoint.  But when he went to another medical center for specialized treatment he discovered his cancer had left, remitted.  Of course this was without prayer or hope on his part.  Just another expression of life as he saw it.  But of course I can't say others were not praying for him.  After all people do win the lottery.  And one has a slightly better chance of winning if you buy a ticket (only very slightly)--after all someone may buy a ticket for you.

Certainly the unexpected and even the unimagined happens in life.  Thank goodness!  In fact all of life is unexpected and unimaginable.  And maintaining a sense of wonder and gratitude seems warranted.  Let's take a deep  breath and enjoy it.  And furthermore, when someone else suffers let's join them in empathy and loving kindness knowing we all suffer.  It's not that God shines his mercy on us and not you.  We're all one.